Benitez plays down talk of a crisis

Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez has played down talk of a crisis at Anfield and says his detractors should give him until the end of the season before passing judgement.

Liverpool currently lie in 13th place in the Premier League, 18 points behind runaway leaders Chelsea, and were knocked out of the League Cup in midweek by Championship side Crystal Palace.

“A lot of people talked about Liverpool last season and said we were the worst Liverpool team for 40 years,” Benitez said.

“Then we won the Champions League and now the Super Cup and that proves you can not talk about a team after two and a half months of the season.

“You must wait until the end, and at the end of the season you can say it was a good or a bad season.”

Benitez believes his team have improved since last season.

“We are more consistent. We are drawing against good teams, okay we would like to win, but to me it means we are better than last season.

“The problem with the league table is that we have two games in hand (on Chelsea). Think about if we win those two games – we will be in the top four,” he added.

Benitez believes the club will soon turn the corner.

“I am a person that analyses a lot of things,” he added. “Each week can change in football. We talk about the England national team. I remember when they were beaten last month and everyone was against the manager and said the team was terrible.

“One game later the team qualified for the World Cup and everyone now says England can win the World Cup.”

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